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Ch. 146..150: OMG My Crippled Husband is a Hot Powerful CEO Chapter 146-150

Chapter 146: Chapter 146 - Joanna’s Ruthlessness

"I never invited anyone to sit at my table, so why should I pay for them?" Alex asked in annoyance, his expression cold.

From the beginning, he just waited for them to embarrass themselves. If Joanna’s friend or whoever she was had been around, she would have been grateful that Alex saved her life by refusing to let her sit at the table with them as she wanted. Nora paled instantly.

"Alex..." she began, reaching out to touch his hand, but he pushed her away.

"If you try to touch me one more time, I will make sure you don’t have a hand to use anymore."

Joanna smiled. As much as this was just a contract, she enjoyed Alex’s attention and respect, which was more than enough for her.

When Alex allowed them to share the table earlier, she was afraid he was going to pay due to his generosity towards her.

It turned out that only she and the people closest to her enjoyed that kind of generosity. Her heart warmed, and a smile stretched her lips.

Nora was slowly accepting the truth. Alex had changed so much and was no longer as generous to her as before. But how in heaven’s name was she supposed to cough up so much money?

Everything she and her friends ordered amounted to roughly five hundred thousand dollars, and she had done it to upset Joanna.

Now, most of the dishes remained untouched and could not be returned. But maybe if Alex could pay for this, then she could order for it to be packaged for her to take home.

These were not everyday dishes but once-in-a-blue-moon indulgences she took advantage of, not knowing it was going to hook her in the neck.

"Alex, please, just this once, and I would never ask for anything from you again."

She was also just realizing that everything Joanna ordered had been consumed with just a little left over. As Mrs. King, she could have anything she wanted but chose to order just what they needed, which was the sign of a responsible woman.

Not her, Nora, who acted on impulse at the mere sign of jealousy. Alex was already all over Joanna, helping her from her seat like some kind of queen.

"Angel, we should leave now for that massage," he winked. Tears stung the corner of Nora’s eyes, and her friends stared at her with a look of disappointment.

If Nora had stayed with Alex, then they would have also been benefiting from him now because from the looks of it, Alex was not going to spend on any woman who was not his.

"Nora, you know I don’t have money, and Paps is also sick," one of her friends reminded her, prompting Alex to make a suggestion that sent fear into their hearts.

"There are ways around these things. The three of you could render your services as janitors, waitresses, or maybe all of them put together for years to pay the bills."

Looking at the salary of workers in the hospitality industry, they would indeed have to work for years unless they agreed to multiple jobs. Not only did they ruin Alex’s romantic moment, but they also disrespected his wife by joining their table.

Aside from that, Nora had embraced him without his permission, all of which added up to the anger he felt towards them.

Feeling afraid and ashamed, Nora realized that Alex was very ruthless to bring up such a suggestion.

He had no respect for her and obviously wanted to embarrass her, but she didn’t have a choice and decided to continue pleading with him, hoping to touch his heart.

"Alex, please, I will do anything," she said desperately, but Alex did not even try to give her request consideration, lifting Joanna in his arms bridal style.

Nora and her friends were heartbroken, her friends especially were afraid and wanted to cry.

"Nora, they are leaving. Do something," another friend implored. Nora felt helpless and afraid. As a gentleman, Alex should have just paid for everything, but he refused to do so.

Even some of the wine remained untouched. Nora was about to run after Alex when security blocked her path.

"Ma’am, we won’t allow you to leave if you don’t pay for the food you ordered."

The three women felt humiliated, tears filled their eyes, but an idea came to mind, and Nora screamed before Alex disappeared at the entrance with Joanna in his arms.

"Joanna, I was wrong in everything I did. Can you please let Alex pay for everything?"

Her teary voice caught Joanna’s attention, and she told Alex, "Wait, are you really not going to pay for her?"

Alex stopped in his tracks, a frown lining his face. "I beg your pardon?"

Joanna’s heart thumped a little, and the way he carried her in his arms made her even more uncomfortable.

"Please drop me on the floor first," she requested. Alex was greatly disappointed but obeyed her command.

Joanna forced a smile and began to implore the best way she could. "Look, Alex, I’m not in support of what they did, but who knows? They might have families out there. From the looks of it, the manager isn’t ready to let them off until the bills are paid."

Alex was not liking this, making it clear to her. "Joan, my decision is to keep them away from me forever. If you give them a mile, they would take two."

Joanna smiled and leaned in, playfully tugging his necktie. "Please, darling, just do this for me."

Alex frowned imperceptibly. "If this is your way of seducing me, then you already failed, or perhaps, you don’t have it in you."

Though he sounded jovial, Joanna was blushing like a fool because that was exactly what she was doing.

"Was it that obvious?" She asked for his confirmation, and Alex was honest with her.

"Exactly the point. For as long as you remain my wife, I can’t deny you anything, so you should refrain from using such cheap tactics."

Ashamed and flattered, she could not believe that he was indeed going to grant her request if she hadn’t used such means. "But you refused when I said it the first time."

"I didn’t," Alex promptly refused before explaining it to her. "I was merely cautioning you against the consequence of your request."

With warmth filling her, Joanna embraced him without permission and whispered. "Thank you."

Alex wrapped his arms around her, lifted her chin gently with his forefinger, and pressed his lips on her forehead. She infused him with her kindness each day, but he always felt helpless whenever it had to do with her.

"Alright. Here’s my card. You should be the one handling it."

Joanna pulled away and stared at him with joyful tear-filled eyes, but it saddened Alex to see her like that.

"What happened? Why are you crying?"

Joanna forced a smile and shook her head. How could she tell him she had fallen in love with him after he warned her not to?

Alex seemed to know the end of the contract right from the beginning and warned her against it, but she was too confident, thinking she was too strong to withstand anything.

That confidence did not only fail but also broke her into pieces. "You make me happy," she said, almost in a whisper. Alex chuckled and wiped her tears with the thump of his hands.

They both got what they wanted from the contract, and Grandpa already knew the truth of the matter. Even now, they could end it, but was he ready to let her go?

Going back to the restaurant, they were stunned to see that the three women had changed into working clothes and were waiting on customers.

Seeing Alex and Joanna, Nora did not know whether to be happy or sad, finding it hard to guess their reason for coming back.

"I don’t believe that you three could not foot the bill," Joanna said. Nora was confused, unaware that Joanna was testing her.

"You think I would subject myself to this kind of torture if I had the money? My bank account is in credits," she said honestly, wanting to say more but afraid she might end up offending Joanna for whatever reason.

To their shock, Joanna took her phone and began to video them waiting on customers and mopping the floor for a total of ten seconds.

"Isn’t it enough that we are so pitiful? Why do you want to embarrass us further?" Nora asked in a deflated tone, a tear streaming down her cheek.

"I just want to have something against you," Joanna replied. Not only Nora but even her friends were confused.

At this juncture, they had stopped all they were doing, focusing their attention on Joanna.

"What do you mean by having something against us? What have we done to you?" One of Nora’s friends asked. Alex watched from afar and did not intervene.

"I’m going to pay the bills for you, but just in case you gather any ideas of getting close to my man like you tried doing earlier, I will make sure to send this video viral."

Nora wiped another tear from the corner of her eye. At this point, she could not discern between Joanna and Alex, who was more ruthless.

She was about to say something when the ringing of a phone interrupted them. It was Alex’s phone, and he answered it.

"Alex, I was right all along," Aiden said. Alex was confused. "Right about what?"

Chapter 147: Chapter 147 – I Can Take Care of Myself

Earlier, Aiden waited at the party, determined to talk to Violet, though he already knew what the outcome would be. Unfortunately, Bennette did not leave Violet again like the last time.

Aiden waited until the couple left before he left the venue. As soon as he sat in his car, he received the report on the information he requested concerning Bennette after his phone beeped.

The email was very detailed, and Aiden took his time to read it all. As soon as he got the key elements he wanted, he dialed Alex’s number, though everything inside him at that moment wanted him to call Violet on the phone.

"Alex, I was right all along," Aiden said. Alex was confused. "Right about what?" he asked from the other end of the line, gazing in Joanna’s direction concerning the outcome of her paying Nora and her friends’ bills.

"Violet’s boyfriend is a jerk," Aiden said. Alex shook his head, sensing his best friend’s jealousy.

"A jerk like you, I guess."

Aiden was perplexed, wanting Alex to be serious rather than teasing him. "Alex, I might be a jerk, but I never hurt any woman."

The words from the end of the line sounded rather hypocritical to Alex, though they were coming from his best friend.

"That is true because I never heard you talk about any woman, but your treatment of Violet makes you no different than her boyfriend, copy that."

Honest words from a best friend could go deep, either making a correction or creating a greater level of hurt.

In Aiden’s case, it rather resurrected the guilt inside of him. "I don’t know what got into me, man. But the man she’s dating is married. I hope you wouldn’t like your wife’s best friend banking another woman’s husband."

The revelation caught Alex’s attention, as he wanted to be by Aiden’s side at this moment to hear the truth of the matter.

"I don’t know you to be so shameless as to make something like this up."

A sigh of relief escaped Aiden as he spoke seriously. "Look, I messed up, but I just couldn’t understand what exactly I felt for her. I was just jealous that all along, she fucked other men when I couldn’t even look at another woman."

From the end of the line, Alex burst into laughter by merely listening to Aiden’s confession.

The sound of his laughter attracted Joanna’s attention, as she had never heard him laugh like that. Curiosity piqued inside of her, and she gave the card to the restaurant manager.

After the payment was done, Nora stared at her with a small smile. "Thank you very much, but I will never stop being envious of you."

Sorrow flashed in Joanna’s eyes. This was what she made people believe that she and Alex were a sweet couple, but her heart would always be filled with sorrow whenever she remembered that this was all but just a contract.

"I will advise you to be content with your life and never envy anyone."

Nora felt she was faking niceness. What was there to regret in being with a CEO like Alex? Upon second thoughts, Joanna was just an ungrateful bitch.

Joanna grabbed Alex by the arm, and he smiled at her the same time he ended the call without informing Aiden.

"My Angel, we need to talk."

Joanna looked around, and with Nora and her friends still around, she swallowed her query and walked with Alex to the car.

With Ike at the driver’s side, Alex spoke gently to Joanna. "There is a problem, and I can only rely on you to solve it because it revolves around your best friend."

At the mention of best friend, Joanna’s heart thumped, and the only person she could think about was Violet.

"What about Violet? What is wrong with her?"

Alex stared at her with compassion. "I would have wanted us to go meet with Aiden, but we have work tomorrow, and we both need to work."

"I will never trust Aiden," Joanna said directly. Alex agreed but also hinted. "Well, I wouldn’t either if he hadn’t made a confession."

A frown twisted Joanna’s face as she asked with interest. "What confession?"

This was the first time Alex found himself gossiping with someone who was not Aiden but rather his contract wife. As such, everything felt awkward.

"You must first promise not to be moved by sentiments but rather to cooperate with me in resolving this matter," Alex cautioned, not wanting her to cause things to spiral in a different direction, and Joanna smiled at him.

"Alright. Let’s just say that since you trust me, I will do whatever you want tonight."

Her words sounded like she wanted to seduce him again, but the seriousness in her expression caused Alex to see things from a different angle.

He leaned closer, and Joanna’s breath caught up in her throat, realizing she had said something impulsive.

"Point of correction. I mean whatever it takes to resolve the matter since it concerns my best friend."

Satisfied by the change of her words and tone, Alex leaned back and smiled. "Alright. According to Aiden, Violet is dating a married man, and from the looks of it, she isn’t aware."

Joanna took a deep breath, but since the information revolved around Aiden, she did not fully believe it.

"I’ve only considered Aiden because he’s your best friend, but I won’t believe anything he says concerning Violet."

She expected Alex to be upset, but rather, a smile stretched his lips. "I love that you don’t easily trust him, but here’s proof."

He gave his phone to her since he could not bear to transfer such delicate information when she did not believe it.

The moment Joanna began reading the document, her face took a different shade.

"Violet. Let me call her."

Alex did not argue as she brought out her phone, dialing Violet’s number. At the end of the line, Violet’s lips were locked with Bennette, their clothes dropping in turns when her phone began ringing, disrupting everything.

"Who is it? Don’t answer it," Bennette groaned, as he pressed his lips to her delicate neck, leaving a mark as he tried to unhook her bra.

"Sure," Violet reached for her phone, about to switch it off when she saw the name and paused.

"It’s Joan. She might be in trouble."

Bennette was so turned on that he wanted to stop her, but Violet already pushed him away, a little too violently.

Anything about Joanna caught her immediate attention. "Hey, are you alright? Is Alex being an asshole?" she asked worriedly. Joanna forced a smile.

"No. Bennette is the asshole. I want to see you now."

Confusion clouded Violet’s mind as she asked Joanna on the phone. "What are you talking about? I’m with Bennette."

Joanna’s teeth gritted together as she could not trust her best friend with a man at this time of the night. "I can’t say it on the phone, but I hope you haven’t slept with him."

Violet stared apologetically at the man who had just scrambled from the floor. "I’m about to, Joan. I tried holding on for the first time in my life, and it hasn’t been easy," Violet broke into tears, Joanna’s heart warmed.

"It’s a good thing you haven’t done it with him, but Bennette has been married for seven years and is seeking a divorce without leaving anything for his wife. She’s a housewife and lacks confidence. Violet, you stood up for me, and I would hate to see you be the reason for another woman’s pain."

Violet felt all her sexual desires fly out of the window, as something strange spiraled through her. "What did you say? How did you know all these?"

"I didn’t believe it at first when Alex mentioned Aiden, but I have the proof right in front of me, and I’m begging you to believe me."

"I believe you," Violet said almost in a whisper. Joanna was relieved. "Good. Then leave there. You can spend the night at my house, and I will take permission from Alex to be there for you," Joanna said softly, meaning everything.

Her best friend needed her, and Alex should understand, but Violet forced a smile and replied. "Don’t worry. I can take care of myself."

Joanna could feel something wrong and was eager to see her to at least calm her. "No, Violet, please come over or send me your location, and I will come get you."

Violet was in so much pain, and yet, she tried not to show it on her face. "Don’t worry, Joan. I will see you at your office at noon. Let’s have lunch together."

Not having the choice but to trust Violet to handle things responsibly, Joanna relented.

"Alright. Let’s have lunch together." She ended the call and turned to Alex. "It’s alright. Let’s head home."

Joanna did not hear from Violet again, and the latter had even refused to answer her calls, but exactly during lunchtime, she heard a knock on her office door.

Before she answered, the person opened the door and walked in, Joanna’s heart sunk into her stomach.

"Violet, what happened to you?"

Chapter 148: Chapter 148 – What is the Plan?

After ending the call with Joanna last night, Violet chose not to confront the half-naked man in her hotel room, despite his persistent inquiries.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, sauntering towards her and wrapping her safely in his arms.

Violet forced a smile and as much as she wanted to punch him in the face, she knew she had to make it up to that innocent woman still bearing his surname.

"Yeah, everything is fine, but I’m just not in the mood anymore. Let’s try again tomorrow night."

She observed his facial expression shift slightly and questioned him. "Do you have a problem with that?"

He appeared displeased but managed a smile. He had pushed boundaries further than ever before and should commend himself.

"Tomorrow is just around the corner. Let’s sleep."

One of the reasons Violet cherished him was his respect for her boundaries. He never pressured her into intimacy, which made her feel valued.

However, Violet found it difficult to sleep that night. Bennet also struggled but eventually drifted off, his arm around her.

Violet, still awake, did not bother to cover up after their encounter, sleeping in her half-naked state. Bennet trusted her explanation that she wasn’t in the mood. Once he was asleep, she picked up his phone.

She recalled seeing him enter a passcode on a few occasions but had never taken advantage until now.

Dialing the numbers from memory, she successfully unlocked the phone and was shocked by what she found.

There were messages between Bennet and a woman named Sadie, whom she assumed to be his wife.

Quickly, she copied Sadie’s number to her phone before returning Bennet’s phone to its original place. She then got up, dressed, and sent a text message.

’I need to take care of something urgent. Call me when you wake up.’

She quietly left the hotel room, reached her car, and dialed Sadie’s number, not expecting a response due to the late hour. To her surprise, Sadie answered.

"Hello. Who is this?" Sadie inquired.

Violet swallowed nervously before replying. "I’m not your enemy, and I’m sorry to say, I’m your husband’s mistress."

There was silence on the other end, followed by sobs. "What do you want from me? He already chose you over me."

Violet felt guilty but was determined to make amends. "I don’t think so. I haven’t known him for long," she admitted, hearing a chuckle from Sadie.

"You must be the latest. I wonder what happened to the others."

Violet sensed there was more to the situation and, despite her guilt, felt compelled to ask.

"Can we meet?"

"I wish, but he has cameras everywhere, monitoring my movements. He can have any woman he wants, and yet, I have to play the role of the good wife. I did everything he wanted, and still, I wasn’t good enough for him," Sadie lamented, causing Violet’s heart to ache.

Determined not to let Bennet get away with his actions, Violet encouraged Sadie. "Stop trying to please him. He’s not worth it."

Sadie chuckled bitterly. "It’s easy for you to say because he wants to marry you."

Violet remained composed as she replied. "I honestly had no idea he was married. I don’t get involved with married men."

"Well, the divorce will be finalized in a few weeks, so you have nothing to lose," Sadie remarked casually, though Violet could sense the pain in her words.

"You misunderstand. I want to help you get what you deserve," Violet assured her.

Sadie was skeptical. "Why should I trust you? You’re my husband’s mistress."

"Because I’m a woman too, and no woman deserves to be treated the way he’s treating you," Violet reasoned.

Sadie hesitated but eventually broke down. "How can you help me when even my parents can’t?"

Violet’s heart sank at the realization that she had been involved with Bennet while his wife suffered. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she wiped them away quickly.

"Don’t worry about the details. Just trust me, but I’ll need your cooperation."

Hope flickered in Sadie’s voice as she replied. "If you help me, we can split everything fifty-fifty."

Violet smiled sadly. "Don’t worry. I don’t want anything in return," she assured her, though Sadie seemed puzzled.

"I don’t understand."

"Helping you is the only way to ease my guilt," Violet explained, recalling Aiden’s warning and her decision to handle this situation independently.

"In that case, I have no choice but to trust you," Sadie conceded. As Violet prepared to end the call, Sadie added, "I hope he doesn’t hit you when he’s angry like he does to me."

Violet froze, tears welling in her eyes. "He hurts you?"

Sadie’s response was unexpected. "I mentioned the cameras, but the truth is, I look terrible."

She sent a photo as proof and continued, "He rapes and abuses me at the slightest provocation. I initiated the divorce, and he threatened to ensure I get nothing from him."

The more Violet looked at the picture, the more her heart sank, and her anger intensified.

"Sadie, you have to trust me, okay?" Violet urged, adding, "It’s best if we don’t meet for now. If he sees us together, he’ll become suspicious. Memorize my number and delete it from your phone."

Sadie sobbed on the other end. "I don’t know you, but I believe you."

Violet smiled through her tears. "I will make him pay for what he’s done to you."

After ending the call, Violet drove home, unable to sleep. She woke up feeling exhausted but only answered Bennet’s calls to avoid raising suspicions until she reached Joanna’s office.

"Violet, what happened to you?" Joanna inquired.

This was her first time having an office to herself and it felt weird, coupled with the fact that she had a secretary attending to her.

She also had her work colleagues, Julliet and Vida promoted. Things would have been exciting if not for Violet’s involvement with Bennet.

Violet poured out the whole story to her best friend, leaving Joanna incensed. "So, what is the plan?" Joanna asked, ready to offer her support in any way she could.